Thursday, August 10, 2017

A top lawyer for President Trump slammed the special counsel’s office over the FBI raid of former campaign manager Paul Manafort’s Virginia home, accusing investigators of committing a “gross abuse of the judicial process” for the sake of “shock value” – and employing tactics normally seen “in Russia not America.”

Trump attorney John Dowd leveled the complaints in an email sent to a Wall Street Journal reporter who wrote about the Manafort raid. The email was obtained by Fox News.

The email reflects Trump’s legal team moving to protect the president, amid speculation that the raid could be part of a broader effort to squeeze Manafort for information on Trump.

"These methods are normally found and employed in Russia not America.” - John Dowd, attorney for President Trump

Dowd, in his note, questioned the validity of the search warrant itself, calling it an “extraordinary invasion of privacy.” Dowd said Manafort already was looking to cooperate with congressional committees and said the special counsel never requested the materials from Manafort.

Let's just say it isn't normal for a lawyer who isn't representing someone to speak out so forcefully to defend him. When that lawyer is representing Donald Trump all it does is raise even more suspicions about what they think Manafort might have to offer the Special Prosecutor.

Of course, Manafort did tell the Special Prosecutor about that meeting with Don Jr, Kushner and Russian emissaries. It's unlikely that's all he has to say.